Hey, guys, I thought I'd share my opinion on various games I play here and there. I'm not sure if anyone will actually care what I think about any specific games, but maybe I can persuade one of you to buy a game you were on the fence about or dissuade you from spending money on something pointless.

I work a job where all I do is sit in a small shack and ensure the safety of a warehouse. It can get hectic at times, but for the most part, there's plenty of down time throughout the day; thus, I bring my PS3 to work and play whatever game(s) I have with me.

I'm not an expert on gaming so take my opinion with a grain of salt. And die.

Anyway, I'm on to the next one. Or should I say 'first one'?

My reviews/ratings:

Note: Just because one game is rated higher than the other doesn't mean I think one is better than the other. I'm just basing it off of the game play itself, not making comparisons between games that aren't even competing.
Whether or not one game is better than the other is an opinion that you can make on your own if you decide to play them and compare them.

For those of you who don't know, Sleeping Dogs is a sandbox/open world game similar to the GTA series. Apparently, it's meant to be the third installment to the "True Crimes" series, which some of you might remember from the PS2 days.

Sleeping Dogs' story line is the main reason why the game can get addictive. It follows the life of an undercover cop who transferred from San Francisco's police department over to the crime underworld of Hong Kong.

The game allows for free-running, which is a fun dynamic to the game play. Though it's not as detailed as Assassin's Creed's free-running/parkour, it is a key feature in many of the game's missions.

The fighting in the game is awesome! I'd hate to compare this game to yet another incredible video game series, but the fighting is somewhat similar to the "Batman: Arkham..." series. If Wei Shen gets hit a few times, his clothes and face get splattered in blood, which I found to be cool, though it did get annoying eventually seeing the man seemingly bleeding to death after just a couple punches.

The game does have a few guns here and there that can be used in missions, but it bothered me that you could only keep the weak 9mm on you while your uzi can't be put in your inventory. So it was either you dropped the uzi or you walked around with it out, drawing unwanted attention to yourself.

The interface of the game is almost identical to GTA. There's a circular mini map on the left hand corner, just like in GTA. I didn't mind too much, but I thought it'd be something worth mentioning if anyone cared.

One thing about the game that I found annoying was the lack of details in Wei's day-to-day life. You're supposed to assume that the random girls you go on one date with are suddenly Wei's girlfriends and that he sees them regularly. In GTA IV, you could continue dating the girls or hanging out with various friends to build relationships, but Sleeping Dogs doesn't offer that. I think it could've been fun for that to be added. It would've allowed for more exploring of Hong Kong, but alas, all you can really do in this game is follow the story.

The voice actors might be recognizable by some of you. I didn't know any of them by voice, but when I looked them up, I was pleasantly surprised. Wei Shen is voiced by Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day, Elektra).
Some of the other actors include but aren't limited to:
Emma Stone (Superbad); Lucy Liu (Kill Bill, Charlie's Angels); Chin Han (The Dark Knight); Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat); etc.

You see, I loved this game because of the story, the fighting, the fact that you could jump out of your vehicle and hijack another vehicle while driving at full speed, but once you're done with the story line, there isn't much else to do in the game.

Sure, you can try to complete the game 100% by doing all the side missions, but after that? The game doesn't have much replay value. That's why I traded it in once I was done with it.

To Buy or Not to Buy: I suggest you not spend money on the game. If you can rent it through GameFly or borrow it from a friend, do it! Hell, if you're someone who can go through a game quickly, just buy it used from GameStop, pass it within a week, and then return it for a full refund.

It's a great game to play because of the amazing story, but if you buy it, don't expect to get much replay out of it.

That was a pretty breathy review for being to short and to the point, and coming from me that means something. But well done. Even took the time to put in the pictures.

I really liked that game too. My feelings plus and minus are about the same as yours, but I'd recommend it as a buy. I thought the fighting was good enough to warrant some replay value. It looks to have done well enough that it's going to get some DLC added. And there's plenty of map goodies to track down to help fill out the game. It's not a long one by any means, but I feel like I got my enjoyment out of it.

This holiday season it should drop down to $40 or less. I would call it a BUY at that price. I enjoyed it for the 15 or so hours it took me to complete it. The whole Asian and Triad thing sold it for me.

I saw my brother-in-law playing it and it seemed way too much of a copy of other games. Every time a sequence started I could pinpoint exactly which game they copied the game play from.

It's definitely knocking off three or four other games in bits and pieces, with the GTA element being a huge influence obviously, Assassin's Creed in the running to a degree, and Arkham City in the combat a bit.
However, stealing good parts from good games isn't really something to complain about.

It's definitely knocking off three or four other games in bits and pieces, with the GTA element being a huge influence obviously, Assassin's Creed in the running to a degree, and Arkham City in the combat a bit.
However, stealing good parts from good games isn't really something to complain about.

Agreed. This was probably my favorite game this year, but I happen to really like the theme and atmosphere.

That was a pretty breathy review for being to short and to the point, and coming from me that means something. But well done. Even took the time to put in the pictures.

Yeah, I realized it was pretty lengthy once I had actually posted it. I wanted to edit it but I figured it wasn't as long as most game reviews, so maybe people wouldn't mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by glidedrxlr22

This holiday season it should drop down to $40 or less. I would call it a BUY at that price. I enjoyed it for the 15 or so hours it took me to complete it. The whole Asian and Triad thing sold it for me.

I bought mine brand new from GameStop for $39 after taxes. They had some special sale going on for it.

Note: I will be updating the OP with a link every time I post a review.

L.A Noire: 7.5/10

I'm not sure how you guys feel about this game, but I found it to be a huge disappointment. You're probably looking like this right now:

Don't worry, I'll get to that in a bit. Let's look at the positives first.

L.A Noire's story is intriguing, and it alone makes the game worth playing. You can't expect less from Rockstar Games. They never disappoint when it comes to the story.

While traveling through the recreation of 1940s' Los Angeles, you see real-to-life details, such as city landmarks. The environment is amazing!

The facial expressions of every single character is in amazing detail. The movements of the characters, differences in driving styles of each car, and the interrogations look phenomenal. I don't think there is another game on the market today with such amazing visuals. (Just my opinion)

From the get-go, you'll be drawn into the tale of the game. It seems like a story that would do well even as a short TV series. It's an epic movie chronicling the life of a police officer in the late 1940's.

With all that said, this game is nowhere near perfect.

I expected the geniuses who created such amazing games as GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption, etc., to at least make the game similar to those great titles. I wanted to play the good cop version of Grand Theft Auto, an open-world/sandbox 3rd person game where you could decide to follow the story or put it on hold and do side missions whenever you pleased.

The side missions are all predictable, too. Same old dispatcher call on the car radio, same old chase, all ending with you being the hero while your partners make no effort in helping you. No wonder your character seems to be the only cop up for promotion.

Every case you go through in the game involves a foot chase through paths with some sort of obstructions slowing you down. It's tiring to see your character running at full speed (which seems really slow to me, btw) and not being able to catch the suspects for a long while. It's almost always guaranteed to be an epic foot chase, too. Maybe you'll climb some pipes on the side of a building, maybe you'll keep getting cut off by cars every time you're close to catching the perpetrator on foot, you never know... Except you do know because after the first couple of chases, the rest begin blurring into similarity.

Even checking the crime scene is always the same every go 'round. You inspect the victim's lifeless body, trying to find clues in anything you can, doing the same old motions. Tilt the head here. No tilt it there and check this jacket flap. Or maybe this one.

This game seems like a movie that you're in control of. You have to know the right lines during the interrogations, you control your character's movements, and unfortunately you have no choice but to follow the story because there isn't much else to do in the game.

To Buy or Not to Buy: Just look at my thoughts on Sleeping Dogs and you'll know exactly what I think.

The story is phenomenal, the graphics are groundbreaking, and the characters are all interesting, but if you play it all the way through one time, you'll likely not want to do it again. Replay-ability isn't there.

I will say, though, if you collect games and have a large library with a plethora of video games, this is one worth adding to your collection; however, if you're someone who will finish a game and trade it in for something else at GameStop later, this might be one to rent/borrow, not buy.